Hit by a car, so so lucky

robklancs

Yesterday evening, 7pm I was hit as I crossed a roundabout by a car coming off the motorway slip road. It was going maybe 30+ mph. I was going around 18 mph. He never saw me, the car in the lane next to him did and gave way as he should, the car that hit me just sped through and was still accelerating when he hit me. Fortunately , miraculously it appears to be soft tissue damage and damage to the bike clothing and equipment, I really don't know how as it was a full on impact.

I would like to know, is there anything I can do to make this piece of road safer, who do I contact etc as I think there is a potentially fatal flaw with it, as I nearly found out.
Ta
Rob

dragonontheedge

Glad to hear you are ok.

I would speak with your local authority, the Highways Agency and your MP.

tlw1

glad you are ok, that could have been a lot worse

StillGoing

As long as the accident was reported, the police RTC report includes a traffic survey which goes off to the Highways Department. They evaluate RTC stats to decide if there is a problem with the section of highway. As cyclists, you need to accept that travelling on A class roads is fraught with danger and especially so where the section of road is joined by traffic coming from a motorway where the majority of drivers won't have been using their observations much more than looking forwards. That isn't to say a cyclist involved in a collision is at fault, but for me, it's sometimes better to avoid danger where it exists by taking a route away from the area. We have local clubs who's competition is a TT on a major stretch of A class carriageway on which there have been several deaths of cyclists.

robklancs

Thanks guys, thanks philthy, yes the police were called by the paramedic with it being an rta. Like you say, using the road was avoidable and in retrospect maybe not a good idea, but I use it every week without problem, and like you pointed out, it's used as part of a local tt (with a Marshall at the r.about).

The real problem I have is from the point of a driver, I regularly use the slip road in question. At the end of the slip road as you are about to join the A road there are a number of vertical poles, or barriers which are narrow with gaps inbetween to your right, obscuring the view of the traffic on the roundabout. I'm guessing these are here purposely to make you slow downas you enter the r.about. However, as I found out it gives chance for someone to take a major risk by not slowing down, as you get some visibility as you are driving by looking through the gaps in the poles. My point being that better if they are not there at all. Yes people might not slow down as much but at least they would have a better view of the road they are entering.

Guanajuato

Good to hear you're ok.
Seeing as the other car approaching saw you and stopped, its clear that the driver that hit you SHOULD have seen you, possibly Did see your and did the usual thing of its only cyclist. Hopefully the scare will make them think twice before pulling out again. Do hope the police pursue it properly. At least, unlike the other thread above, they have someone to give the other side, and a witness.

antfly

Where were you ?

robklancs

The driver was adamant he never saw me, I do believe him when he says that, he was really shaken. The police have cautioned him with careless driving and he must go on a driver awareness training which he must pay for himself. Hopefully this will improve his driving and make him think twice before barrelling through a r.about.

Ant fly- I was travelling south from lancaster and was going through the r.about at the slip road with junction 33 of the M6 heading towards garstang.

steve6690

If you think there is an issue with the road layout or its condition it would be better to speak with the officer who dealt with your case. If he/she agrees, there is a form they can submit to the traffic liaison dept. This goes to Highways who have to go out and investigate.

robklancs

Thanks Steve, I will give this a go.

Pituophis

Glad you're ok mate.
Had the exact same thing happen a few weeks ago, but luckily for me, he just about managed to miss! :shock:
The driver just glared at me, while the one in the van that had bothered to slow down, put his head in his hands. I think it was pretty close.

Agent57

Glad to hear you're OK.

robklancs wrote:

Ant fly- I was travelling south from lancaster and was going through the r.about at the slip road with junction 33 of the M6 heading towards garstang.

I used to think quite a lot about the relative lack of visibility there when coming off the M6. I thought it was better now than it used to be, but I haven't driven along there much in the past few years. The StreetView images are from 2009 it seems (going only by the copyright notice), but it looked to be relatively clear if obstructions then. A bit crap if they've made it worse in the past few years rather than better.



As for being avoidable, alternative routes are quite a distance out of the way aren't they?

robklancs

Hi agent 57, yes that is the junction, I was hit by a car in the lane the view camera is in. That pic is out of date like you said, between the barrier now and that road sign with the circular top are the screens I am talking about.i will be passing Sunday and will try to take a picture. It is most definatly worse now. Well I was going to ride to st michaels on the a6 then turn right for a loop back round to pilling, I could have gone the opposite way, down Ashton road and done the loop anti clockwise. I'm training for the fred whitton and thought a nice flat ride would make a change to the very hilly ones I have been doing. Big mistake!

Mikey23

Pleased you are ok, could have been far worse...

I've had this happen to me by a motorist coming off a dual carriageway slipway onto a roundabout. Appeared to be making eye contact but then accelerated, missing by inches. Scary

gazhilla

A stretch of road I use quite a bit and had great visibility before. Sorry to hear of the collision and glad you are ok Rob.

robklancs

Gaz, do you agree then as a driver coming off the slip road that visibility is poor?

Thanks for the messages, I'm sat here at home thinking is it worth it? I mean going out keep riding, I'm 29 have a 4 year old and 18month old and as a PE teacher need my legs to work.

It just makes you think what if.......I'm lucky to be alive, it could have been fatal, yet today, after taking a full impact of a tonne of metal (ford Ka) I'm waking around reasonably ok and can still play with the kids. Just swelling , road rash, though I am a little more concerned with the numbness in my hamstring, buttock and front hip.

johngti

I think you need to stop over analysing (easier to say than do I know!). You could easily have been involved in a potentially serious accident in a car so being enclosed by metal isn't even completely safe. Get over the soreness and get back on your bike with the extra wisdom this will bring.

I have a couple of roundabouts that I try to avoid as much as I can as I don't feel safe joining them. Can you adjust your route? Might add a mile or two but got to be worth it. I've thought the same thing as I have two small children and have had a couple of close shaves but for me, I put it to the back of my mind and focus on enjoying the ride

priory

I had a similar crash on a roundabout over the A38 3 years ago, but in my case the car hit my back wheel locking it, I somersaulted forwards and landed in front of a van who drove over me and kept going for a few seconds with me underneath. I believe both drivers saw me before it, the first misjudged his rolling over the line and the second , having lost sight of me , just assumed I had gone away somehow. the car that hit me I had watched moving fast up the sliproad, obviously a flash harry, and I had considered stopping at one point until he slowed apparently intending to stop , or so I thought.
Any alternative route would be several miles further. walking the roundabout would be just as dangerous at the junctions.

nathancom

priory wrote:

I had a similar crash on a roundabout over the A38 3 years ago, but in my case the car hit my back wheel locking it, I somersaulted forwards and landed in front of a van who drove over me and kept going for a few seconds with me underneath. I believe both drivers saw me before it, the first misjudged his rolling over the line and the second , having lost sight of me , just assumed I had gone away somehow. the car that hit me I had watched moving fast up the sliproad, obviously a flash harry, and I had considered stopping at one point until he slowed apparently intending to stop , or so I thought.
Any alternative route would be several miles further. walking the roundabout would be just as dangerous at the junctions.

Jesus. I hope you came out ok the other side of recovery. That sounds awful.

Glad OP has come through relatively unscathed.

dodgy

robklancs wrote:

The driver was adamant he never saw me,

If he was looking, he would have seen you, surely?

johngti

priory wrote:

I had a similar crash on a roundabout over the A38 3 years ago, but in my case the car hit my back wheel locking it, I somersaulted forwards and landed in front of a van who drove over me and kept going for a few seconds with me underneath. I believe both drivers saw me before it, the first misjudged his rolling over the line and the second , having lost sight of me , just assumed I had gone away somehow. the car that hit me I had watched moving fast up the sliproad, obviously a flash harry, and I had considered stopping at one point until he slowed apparently intending to stop , or so I thought.
Any alternative route would be several miles further. walking the roundabout would be just as dangerous at the junctions.

Blimey that's bad. How long before you got back in the saddle?

Guanajuato

I know that junction too, although I've never cycled it. the whole junction is a bad layout overall - most cars coming off the northbound slip road are wanting to head towards Lancaster so are busy trying to change into the right hand lane in the very short distance, having been taken by surprise at the sharpness of the bend on the slip road. Its dangerous even without the deliberate attempt to reduce visibility. Both Lancaster junctions on the M6 are terrible, almost as though they're afterthoughts. Which the Lancaster North junction actually is - it was the construction access back in the day and they suddenly realised the rather poor junctions for Lancaster.

On that roundabout, I'd be tempted to get off and walk on the western side of the A6, where there's no roads coming in. With Lancaster being a 'cycling city' and generally seeming to have a good cycling infrastructure, this one does seem a bit of a strange one.

robklancs

I was a passenger in the car today and my wife drove the roundabout, well guess what, there are no more screens blocking the drivers view was they come off the slip road, since Wednesday it appears they have been removed, the roundabout now looks like it did in the picture above from 2009 with reasonable visibility.

Also today, there was a time trial using the roundabout as I think what was the halfway point, I think I counted 4 stewards on it and 20 plus cycle events sign in the roundabout area.

priory

i do not want to hi-jack the thread, but just answer thanks for the concern , but i made a pretty good recovery. About 6months off the bike then gradually returned to about a third of the mileage I was doing. Short of breath on hills or high speed due to loss of about 1l of lung function, and some aches and pains, but overall very lucky to have got away so lightly. I was awake throughout the crash , and at one point i thought I could not survive any more of it, then it stopped .
I posted because I was hit in a very similar way to the op.. But I have never believed the later written statements that the drivers did not see me; I thought it was just a convenient and quick excuse. Driver one at the time said to a constable that I appeared to swerve and lose control and fall off. Because I was awake and overheard I was able to contradict that , and a witness gave evidence that tended to confirm what I said, and there was a tyre mark on his bumper. But the point is :he did see me.
If my injuries had been worse he might have got away with it and my family not compensated.

3years after my crash they put those screens on one of the roads onto the roundabout. I would be pretty scared of cycling toward that screen , although it is not really a route that cyclists would take .